Reviewed by Geno McGahee
I am not crazy for werewolf movies. I do think that DOG SOLDIERS is an incredible flick and that is about werewolves. TEENWOLF is rather amusing, but that’s not really a werewolf-horror movie…you can’t lump it into the werewolf movies, in my opinion. In 1985, SILVER BULLET was released, a movie based on the book by Stephen King. King has some very good movies and books and he has some very very bad movies and books. He is overrated but he has come out with some gems like THE GREEN MILE. Only King would come up with the idea of Tom Hanks having his junk grabbed while light fixtures explode. Good scene King!
Let me get off of Tom Hanks’ junk. Wait, that didn’t sound right. Moving on, SILVER BULLET features the now dead Corey Haim as Marty, a wheelchair bound kid, overprotected by his parents and resented by his older sister Jane (Megan Follows). The story is told from Jane’s perspective. She is forced to look after Marty and feels like she always has to take a backseat to her little brother. She just wants to push that little shit out of his wheelchair so bad.
Everyone has a cool uncle and everyone has a creepy uncle…you keep the kids away from the creepy uncle. I don’t know where Uncle Red (Gary Busey) falls, but probably a bit of both. Red looks out for Marty and doesn’t have a lot of tact. He even constructs a wheelchair that can go sixty miles per hour and does wheelies with “Silver Bullet” painted across it. Marty loves it and passes cars going the maximum speed…no helmet. Then again, I’m sick of seeing all these kids with helmets. A little danger is exciting. When I was a kid, I never wore any safety gear and sure, you get fucked up once in a while, but it’s part of the game. I wish I had a wheelchair that went 60 MPH when I was a kid. I wish I had an Uncle Red and not just creepy uncles. Why didn’t I get a cool uncle? My uncles …. I wouldn’t trust them alone with a dog. I know that poor rover would end up with lipstick smeared on his face.
Now there is a werewolf on the loose, killing people and tearing them to pieces. Marty is the first to suspect a werewolf when his best friend is mauled and cut to ribbons. When Marty is attacked by the werewolf and shoots him in the eye with a bottle rocket, he now can identify which townie is the hairy bastard. Marty tells Jane and she begins going house to house, looking for anyone with any eye damage and she finds him.
The werewolf is out of the bag and now (spoiler) Reverend Lowe (Everett McGill), the wolf, wants to kill Marty. Why are reverends and priests always after young boys?
Uncle Red is finally convinced that there is a werewolf and plans for a showdown with him, loading his gun with a silver bullet. The three take on the beast as he attacks the house and they pop a cap in his ass.
SILVER BULLET is OK. It’s not great by any stretch but it’s watchable. I did really like Busey. He’s very funny and his craziness is on display in this character. Overall, I do recommend it but it’s pretty forgettable.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6/10.
